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Artificial lawn

58 replies

jigster01 · 26/02/2021 06:43

Hi all ...our lawn is very very patchy (4x4m X 2 squares) we have a large dog that doesn't help ....
We are thinking of artificial grass and are happy to pay a but more for good quality...just wondering if anyone has had this done and how it is with the dog and poos etc ...any photos would be good or recommendations

OP posts:
Porridgeoat · 26/02/2021 06:50

What about a moss lawn. Fake grass sounds awful

stopchewingeverything · 26/02/2021 07:02

Someone has this near us and their dog wees on it...it stinks as you walk past it on a hot day. I'd probably look at something else if I were you!

Zarinea · 26/02/2021 07:04

It looks awful. So so fake.

And it's environmentally disastrous.

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plixy · 26/02/2021 07:10

My friend got fake grass last year and it looks beautiful. However it gets really really hot and she has to hose it down every hour if the dog wants to go out there otherwise it would burn its feet. Look up fake grass temperatures compared to real grass. I wouldn't get it with a dog.

Bmidreams · 26/02/2021 07:12

It makes me die a little bit each time I see it.

happystory · 26/02/2021 07:17

I'd returf, looks so much nicer and better for the environment

YellowandGreenToBeSeen · 26/02/2021 07:25

Bad for environment.
Looks awful.
Stinks of dog wee.

Don’t do it.

ChardonnaysPetDragon · 26/02/2021 07:28

I wouldn’t. Dogs dig and eat things, I would not want them to eat plastic.

Also, think of the poor bugs you will smother in plastic.

RandomUser18282 · 26/02/2021 07:30

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

youmakemydreamscometrue · 26/02/2021 07:38

My old next door neighbour put it in their garden, she had a dog and it absolutely reeked of urine after a few months despite her hosing it down daily..

She moved and the new neighbour had 2 small children that couldn't play out because of the smell and had to rip it all up and replace.

jigster01 · 26/02/2021 09:15

Ooh ....lots of thought to be had here ...👍

OP posts:
CarterBeatsTheDevil · 26/02/2021 09:18

We also have a scrubby mossy lawn, but we live with it for the birds and bugs so you're not alone, OP - learn to love the scrub Grin

Purplecatshopaholic · 26/02/2021 09:19

I had thought about this too. Looks at dog.... bins idea....

SoupDragon · 26/02/2021 09:21

A natural lawn, no matter how scruffy, is full of life. Fake grass is completely lifeless.

Ikora · 26/02/2021 09:27

My neighbours have this, I don’t like it but they are usually away at their second home for about 8 months of the year so it saves maintenance. They are not in to gardening at all and have literally zero plants.

RaininSummer · 26/02/2021 09:30

Please don't. The world has enough plastic without gardens being coated in it.

traintrain · 26/02/2021 09:32

You'll get your arse handed to you here but get it, in your circumstances it'd be brilliant. I bought a house which already had it installed and it is great for dogs.

WeAllHaveWings · 26/02/2021 09:45

We have it, west coast of scotland (wet), and a small shaded north facing garden and a dog. We tried for 6-7 years to get the grass going even before we got the dog and it was still muddy swamp. When ds came along it was just unusable for 80% of the year.

So it was either fake grass or slab/chip. We did a mixture of all three, avoiding straight lines where possible and the fake grass which takes up around 1/3 of the space adds a good balance with colour, shape and texture.

It was brillant for us, suddenly gave us loads of usable space, great for ds when he was young as he could go out straight away all year round when there was a break in the rain and kick a ball.

We discouraged ddog from peeing on the grass after it was laid and he now pees on the chips only so I don't know if dog pee is a problem. When we bought the grass from the builders merchants they recommended short grass for dogs and picking up poo is very easy. We don't have problems with it being too hot (scotland is rarely too hot!)

Of course it is naff compared to a nice lawn, but in some gardens it is an excellent alternative to chips and slabs alone.

Do be aware once it has been down a few years it is a bit of work to maintain as leaf debris etc builds up in it and moss develops. At least twice a year it needs moss killer down and a good brush out to remove some of the dead moss (and keep the dog off it for a few days while the moss killer down). It is quite physical work to do, so we are glad we only have a small area.

LolaSmiles · 26/02/2021 09:48

I'd scrap what's there, dig it over, new top soil and put down new turf. A plastic garden doesn't appeal to me.

Roominmyhouse · 26/02/2021 10:03

@RaininSummer

Please don't. The world has enough plastic without gardens being coated in it.
This. It’s terrible for nature and the environment.
sluj · 26/02/2021 10:04

MN has decreed that artificial lawn is naff, but actually in some circumstances it looks better than patchy lawn and is a good option. Particularly in small spaces

SoupDragon · 26/02/2021 10:16

@sluj

MN has decreed that artificial lawn is naff, but actually in some circumstances it looks better than patchy lawn and is a good option. Particularly in small spaces
And in no circumstances is it ever good for the environment.

Stop covering natural landscape with sodding plastic!

WeAllHaveWings · 26/02/2021 10:18

@SoupDragon

A natural lawn, no matter how scruffy, is full of life. Fake grass is completely lifeless.
Our fake grass is full of bugs.

After the first year a layer of debris builds up in it and moss starts to grow in it, the bugs live in the debris and moss (excess moss is handled the same way as moss in a real lawn).

Obviously you won't get burrowing type creatures, but there is more life in fake grass than some of the alternatives where a real lawn is not possible such as slabs.

ChardonnaysPetDragon · 26/02/2021 10:23

No one has decreed anything.

Posters are pointing out genuine drawbacks if it.

BogRollBOGOF · 26/02/2021 10:52

My neighbours have a fake lawn laying it 5+ years ago when old age meant gardening became increasingly impractical. It looks good year round, and their garden has low maintainence, well planted and mulched flowerbeds so they get a garderner in each season for maintainence and half the garden is still better for wildlife than an average fence to fence, well maintained lawn but far cheaper to outsource management.

A weedy lawn of dandelions, buttercups, daisies etc is alright for the environment. A neatly manicured lawn that is closely cropped and regularly treated is not much of an environmental asset.

I'm not aware of drainage issues. Our lawn is an unusable swamp all winter and can have surface puddles after sustained heavy rain, and I don't see the neighbours having that issue.

People don't wring their hands over the environmental impact of laying a large patio, and the environmental cost of concrete is no better than plastic, probably worse, and is a groundwater drainage issue.